1. Influential Figures in Greece & Rome.

2. Socrates
Athenian philosopher & teacher ( BCE)

3. Socrates Socratic Method.
Argued that there were no absolute standards for truth and justice 
Encouraged his students to question their assumptions, values and opinions. 
To accomplish this he developed a teaching method in which he would ask students a series of leading questions
 Socratic Method. 

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Socratic Method challenged students to think for themselves rather than accept traditional understandings of the world
 His work proved to be too much for Athenian authorities; in 399 BCE Socrates was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth of Athens. 

5. Plato
Greek  philosopher  (427 to 347 BCE)
Student of Socrates

6. plato Recorded many of Socrates teachings
Expanded on  Socrates philosophical work  by continuing to encourage rational thought
best exemplified by the cave allegory found in his most famous work The Republic, published in 370 BCE
 compares the traditions & superstitions that most people rely upon to understand the world as shadows of the real truth
Plato’s The Republic  was the dominant philosophical work for 1,500 years

7. ARistotle (384 to 322 BCE) Student of Plato
attended Plato’s school, the Academy 
Founded his own school called the Lyceum after Plato’s death
Worked to collect & categorize all of the knowledge from a wide variety of disciplines including politics, philosophy, ethics, poetry, physics, astronomy, meteorology, zoology, and psychology. 
Aristotle’s work laid the foundation for the modern study of many of these disciplines. .

8. Alexander The Great

9. Alexander the great Son of Phillip, King of Macedonia
His father conquered & unified Greece while king but died shortly after
Alexander became the King 
Shortly after, he led a unified army of Greeks & Macedonians against Persia
Revenge for the Persian invasion in 480 BCE
Alexander’s armies  defeated the Persian Empire
Took control of the Middle East & Egypt; also crossed the Indus River in northern India
As he proceeded forward,  he left a series of new cities inhabited by a mix of indigenous peoples & Greek colonists
Alexander died at 32 years old in 323 BCE without an heir. 
His generals wrangled over the empire, eventually dividing it among themselves

11. Alexander's Lasting Legacy
While the political unity of the empire Alexander created was short lived the cultural legacy endured
Greek culture blended with indigenous traditions across the Middle East & South Asia came to be known as Hellenism
Hellenistic Synthesis, termed by historians, ushered in an age of vibrant cultural exchange in scholarship, the arts, and literature

12. Julius ceasar 
Julius Caesar took advantage of political and economic instability after the Punic Wars to undermine the government of the Roman Republic and accumulate power for himself. 
In 60 BCE he unified with two other powerful & ambitious Romans to form the first triumvirate. 
dominated the government of the Republic for ten years
During this time, Julius Caesar utilized his military genius to conquer all of Gaul (modern France) for the Romans. 
His success worried the other members of the triumvirate & Roman Senate.

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These fears were well founded as Caesar’s soldiers were deeply loyal & he was enormously popular among the people of Rome
In an attempt to control Caesar, the Roman Senate ordered him to disband his armies & return to Rome.
Instead, Caesar marched on Rome with his troops, easily taking the city of Rome.
By 44 BCE, Caesar defeated his political rivals & pressured the Roman Senate to name him dictator for life 
Many historians mark this as the end of the Roman Republic & the beginning of the Roman Empire
Caesar was assassinated to try & bring order back to Rome 

14. augustus ceasar Began his life as Octavian
He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar 
With two other supports of Julius Caesar, seized power in Rome after the assassination of his father
 Second Triumvirate ruled Rome for ten years but, like its predecessor, it fell apart because of political ambition and jealousy.
Octavian managed to force one member into retirement & defeated other in a civil war leaving complete control of Rome in his hands
In 27 BCE Octavian accepted the title Augustus “exalted one” & became Rome’s first emperor ruling until his death in 14 CE. 
Many historians mark the ascension of Augustus Caesar as the beginning of a period called Pax Romana. This 207 year long period is considered the high point in Roman political, economic and cultural dominance. 

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